Process of manufacturing printing blocks and plates.



trated liquid ammonia may be employed and.

, vention consist of' hard TUNITED STATESJPATENT OFFICE. l I .CLOUIS coLLARDoN, on LEIPZIG, GERMANY ROC SS OF MANU ACTURING PRINTING stocxs AND PLATES.

1 Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented April 30, 1907.

Application filed January 23,1905. Serial No. 242,452.

7'0 all whom may concern;

Be it 'knownthat I, LOUIS COLLARDON, re-

tired military officer, manufacturer, a citizen 'of the Argentine Republic, residing at 32 Friedrich .Liststra'sse, Leipzig, Kingdom of Saxony, German Empire, have invented new and useful Improvements in Process of Manufacturing Printing Blocks and Plates, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to a new sort of printiugplates and the manufacture of them and has for itsobjectto render the printing plates cheaper and more durable and the process of the manufacture cheaper and more expeditious.

The printing plates according to myinv'ention are especially capable for reproduci ng fine details. They have furthermore the advantage to be practically nearly uninflam mable, which is important, because printing blocks, or plates are generally cleaned by washing with benzene, solvent naphtha etc.,' in order to remove the remamder of the colors, in which operation easily inflammation can happen.

The printing plates according to my inened casein or albumen; The process of hardening casein or albumen may be carried out by means of substances as tanning substances, formic aldehyde,

moisten the casein with a moistening medium of neutral character, as water for example, or

with a moistening medium of acid oralkaline reaction. Forinstance highly concenof such a quantity thata complete solution of thecasein does not-take place. The quantity of the moistening medium must be such that the mass still feels dry comparatively, so that but very small quantities of liquid are present.

The moistened casein is placed into a mold of'suitable, for instance quadrangular, shape and is then exposed to a high pressure, during or after which a heating can take place, by conducting heat to the surface of the mold v or into, the interior of it. The mold can be provided with a steam jacket or such like. The measure of the high pressure and of the hexamethylentetramine, bichro; mates, chromates, etc. the hardening action temperature used may be found by the skilled workman by experiments. After the treatment bypressure and heat the. plates are allowed to cool and are thenhardened by being coated with hardening means, the action of which may be assisted by warming the plates. I may however also with preference manufacture printing plates being hardened not only on their surface but throughout their whole mass. I mix the casein with the hardening agents before -Inoistening, moisten then, place the mass into the mold and apply heatand pressure.

hen hexamethylentetramine which has proved to be particularly suitable, is employed as hardening agent, it is advantageous to add to casein a substance, such as an acid, producing an acid reaction, as the separation of formaldehyde from hxamethyler tetramine is facilitated. As many tannins have an alkaline reaction and the hardening of the casein is then less efficient, substances presenting an acid reaction are added in this case also. Among acid substances, which may be added to the casein, in addition to acids generally, solid acids or acid salts. such for example as dicalciumphosphate and generally acid phosphates, borates or chromates may be employed, also Turkey-red oil, or-

ganic acids such as oleic acid, stearid acid and their salts. The amount of such additionswill be ascertained by the skilled work man by experiments and will be suitably 10 percent of the casein used.

For many purposes hardenedcasein or albumen is not of itself sulliciently durable and it is very desirable to produce a greater degree of hardness. In other cases, again it is necessary to make the plates softer.

In some cases it is suitable to modify the hardness of theprinting plates obtained by my process of producing hard casein or albumen plates. 7

In order to obtain more softness the plates are brought into contact with an appropriate oil, such for example as castor oil, Canada balsam, Turkey-red oil, turpentine and the like. Soft filling material such as sulfate of barium, magnesia, chalk, permanent white, white lead, kaolin or the like may be employed.

The printing plates obtained according to my invention maybe used as printing surfaces for lithographic 'rinting or for reliefprinting. If one inten s to use the plates for IOC matrix on a heated har ened casein plate,

' lithographic printing, one transfers the picture on the printing plate in the same manner as usual in the lithographic art.

In order to produce a matrix from my hardened casein lates, I may proceed in'the following way: hardened late of casein or i albumen polished on one si e is placed upon a hot place, or heated on a parallin bath or the like to say 80 to 90 C. U on the plate, which has thus been made p astic, is then placed an engraved or etched die, also heated and applied with a suitable pressurein the heated condition and cooling is then allowed to take place under pressure. The skilled workman will find by experiments the pressure required for obtaining a clean sharp copy suitable for his special purposes.

From the matrix obtained in the described manner I can prepare co )ies by placing the softer than the plate from which the matrix has been made, and applying ressure to the said plates. The copy thus 0 tained can be used for printingin letter presses etc.

What I claim as my invention, and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

1. The process of manufacturing printing ing insolub e blocks and lates which consists in moistencasein in form of a very iine powder and mixing the'same with ahardening medium throughout its ,entire mass and submitting it to pressure and heatSubstantially as described. J y

2. The recess of manufacturing printing blocks and plates which consists in moistening the casein with a small quantity of ammonia, mixing it with hexamethylentetramine and submitting ltflZO pressure and heat, substantially as described.

' The rocess of manufacturing printing blocks and plates which consists inmoistening insoluble casein mixing the same with a hardening mediumand substances modifying the hardness throughout its entire mass and submitting it to pressure and heat substantlally as described.

In testimony whereof I have signed my name to this specification in the presence of two subscribing witnesses.

LOUIS OOLLARDON.

Witnesses WOLDEMAR HAUPT, HENRY HASPER. 

